1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to saving power in a wireless Local Area Network (LAN) and, more particularly, to saving power in a wireless LAN, in which a ratio of a doze mode to an active mode of a voice terminal effecting voice communication according to the IEEE 802.11 standard is efficiently managed, thereby increasing a time to allow the voice terminal to effect voice communication.
2. Description of the Related Art
The IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN standard follows “Standard for Information technology-Telecommunications and information exchange between systems-Local and metropolitan area networks-Specific requirements-Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications,” 1999 Edition.
Hereinafter, the wireless LAN standard of IEEE is referred to as the IEEE 802.11 standard. This standard defines the Media Access Control (MAC) and PHYsical (PHY) layers for a wireless LAN.
The MAC layer defines orders and rules which a terminal or apparatus using shared media must obey during the use/access of the shared media, thereby making it possible to efficiently use the shared media. IEEE 802.11 defines two types of access control mechanisms, a Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) and a Point Coordination Function (PCF).
The following patents each discloses features in common with the present invention but do not teach or suggest the inventive features specifically recited in the present application: U.S. Patent Application No. 2004/0008661 to Myles et al., entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CLOCK SYNCHRONIZATION IN A WIRELESS NETWORK, published on Jan. 15, 2004; U.S. Patent Application No. 2004/0037258 to Scherzer et al., entitled SPACE-TIME-POWER SCHEDULING FOR WIRELESS NETWORKS, published on Feb. 26, 2004; U.S. Patent Application No. 2003/0142641 to Sumner et al., entitled MANAGING WIRELESS NETWORK DATA, published on Jul. 31, 2003; U.S. Patent Application No. 2003/0031140 to Oprescu-Surcobe et al., entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EXTENDING COMMUNICATION UNIT BATTERY LIFE, published on Feb. 13, 2003; U.S. Patent Application No. 2001/0015963 to Tuomainen et al., entitled METHOD FOR REDUCING THE POWER CONSUMPTION OF A MOBILE STATION, published on Aug. 23, 2001; U.S. Patent Application No. 2002/0132603 to Lindskog et al., entitled METHOD FOR POWER SAVE, published on Sep. 19, 2002; U.S. Patent Application No. 2003/0161340 to Sherman, entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR OPTIMALLY SERVING STATIONS ON WIRELESS LANS USING A CONTROLLED CONTENTION/RESOURCE RESERVATION PROTOCOL OF THE IEEE 802.11E, published on Aug. 28, 2003; and U.S. Patent Application No. 2003/0210658 to Hernandez et al., entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING POWER CONSUMPTION OF A NETWORK INTERFACE MODULE IN A WIRELESS COMPUTING DEVICE, published on Nov. 13, 2003.